New UHRP Research Maps Uyghur Diaspora Around the World
For immediate release
November 21, 2023, 7:00 a.m. EST
Contact: Omer Kanat, +1 (202) 790-1795, Peter Irwin, +1 (646) 906-7722
The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) has published the first known comprehensive mapping of the Uyghur diaspora, which aims to aid researchers, journalists, civil society, and governments working in support of Uyghurs abroad.
“Uyghurs in our homeland have been silenced. But our global Uyghur community is tireless in speaking up to fight the genocide, wherever we live across the world. Our mapping aims to highlight the diaspora as the voice of the voiceless at home,” said UHRP Executive Director, Omer Kanat.
Increasingly, researchers, journalists, and other observers have turned to the diaspora as a key source of information on the ongoing atrocities in East Turkistan, helping the international community better understand the dynamics of the issue, as well as the diaspora itself.
Considering the near-total elimination of free expression and cultural practice in the Uyghur homeland, Uyghurs abroad have worked to foster and strengthen cultural resilience abroad. These transnational efforts to sustain Uyghur culture in the diaspora are even more necessary today given the bleak conditions on the ground.
Our research, Mapping the Uyghur Diaspora, demonstrates the need for governments and aid agencies to provide even more robust support to Uyghurs abroad, many of whom are working tirelessly to support journalists and researchers, while at the same time preserving and promoting Uyghur culture.
“This research is all the more relevant as the Uyghur diaspora is increasingly relied upon to selflessly provide information and interpret trends in the homeland,” said author and UHRP Associate Director for Research and Advocacy, Peter Irwin. “If governments can make genocide findings and express deep concern over these atrocities, they should also be identifying how they can more adequately support Uyghurs in their own countries.”
Our research relies on census data, community members, researchers, and other sources. While recognizing the difficulty “counting” any population, we provide our best estimate, based on these sources, for each country. Furthermore, the research will exist as a living document to be updated to reflect new information, migration trends, and other factors over time.
Read more:
UN Refugee Agency Failing to Protect Uyghur Refugees: UHRP Report, June 2023
UHRP Report Documents Humanitarian Needs of the Uyghur Diaspora, Calls for Support for Uyghur Civil Society, February 2023
UHRP Publishes East Turkistan Language Guide and Graphics for Journalists and Researchers, December 2022